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Thursday, January 31, 2013

1905 graduation photograph of George Gould, a student at the Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.The photograph itself is 4" x 3"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7". It was found with 15 similar photographs of 6 other men and 9 women. Most of the photographs, if not all, were taken by the Edgar K. Horton studio of Providence.A list of the people in the photographs appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]I found several possibilities for a George Gould in the Providence, Rhode Island area during the relevant time frame.It's possible that the young man in the photograph was George Herbert Gould, born 7 December 1886 at Attleboro, Massachusetts, son of George A. and Elizabeth (Wilson) Gould.This George Gould married Grace Green of Canada and was a civil engineer who worked for the City of Providence, Rhode Island. They had at least two children, both sons.If you have a theory about the identity of the George Gould in the graduation photograph, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!People in the 16 photographs:

1905 Graduation photograph of Joseph Alfred Fallows, a student at the Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.The photograph itself is 4" x 3"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7". It was found with 15 similar photographs of 6 other young men and 9 young women. Most of the photographs, if not all, were taken by the Edgar K. Horton studio of Providence.A list of the people in the photograph appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Joseph Alfred Fallows was born 23 July 1887 at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the son of Joseph and Deborah (Wardle) Fallows, both born in England, Lancashire, I think.On 10 February 1912, Joseph Alfred Fallows married Bessie W. Young, daughter of Junia and second wife Mary Young. Mary may have been born Mary Congdon or Mary Congdon Watson.By the time of the 1920 Census, the couple and their daughter Elizabeth were living at Providence, Rhode Island, with Bessie's mother Mary. Joseph was working as a bookkeeper at a bank. The same held true for the 1930 Census. By 1940, Bessie's mother Mary had died. Joseph, Bessie and Elizabeth were still at Providence, with Joseph working as an accountant and his wife and daughter working as teachers.If you have corrections to the information above or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!People in the sixteen photographs:

Note: Please scroll down to the comments for additional background on Frank provided by a reader on 31 March 2013.1905 graduation photograph of Frank Bartlett McSoley, a student at Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.The photograph itself is 4" x 3"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7". It was found with 15 similar photographs of 6 other young men and 9 young women. Most of the photographs, if not all, were taken at the studio of Edgar K. Horton of Providence.A list of the people in the photographs appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Frank Bartlett McSoley was born 11 December 1885 at Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Bartholomew and Carrie A. (Slocum) McSoley, who were born in Rhode Island and Massachusetts respectively.Frank's paternal grandparents were Bartholomew and Catherine McSoley. His maternal grandparents were Frank and Sarah Slocum. I don't have Catherine's maiden name, but she gave her birthplace as Ireland on the Census forms. She married a Mr. Gleason after Bartholomew died.I found conflicting records on Frank Slocum, so there may have been more than one in the New Bedford, Massachusetts area. Was he Francis or Franklin? His wife Sarah noted on the 1880 Census that she was married, but Frank was not in the household. There was a Francis H. Slocum living at New Bedford at the time of the 1880 Census; he was listed as widowed. Perhaps that was not quite the case, or perhaps he was the Francis below, with his birth date wrong.Interestingly, there was a Francis Humphrey Slocum, son of Rodney and Mary C. (Haskins) Slocum, who married Sara Luscomb and had a daughter named Caroline. The dates of birth are out of whack as much as ten years or so for the people I'm researching, though.If you can resolve this mystery, please leave a comment.In the 1910 Census of Providence, Frank was shown as living with his parents and maternal grandmother and working as an electrical engineer at an electric company. I didn't find a marriage record for him, but I could have missed it.Sadly, he died at the age of 30, on 15 August 1916 in Rhode Island.If you have corrections to the information above, or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!A list of the people in the 16 photographs:

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

1905 graduation photograph of Mancel Talcott, a student at Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.The photograph itself is 4" x 3"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7". It was found with 15 similar photographs of 6 other young men and 9 young women. Most of the photographs, if not all, were taken at the studio of Edgar K. Horton of Providence.A list of the people in the photographs appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Mancel Walter Talcott was born 10 March 1885 at Cranston, Rhode Island, the son of Walter O. and Harriet F. (Eastwood) Talcott, who were born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rhode Island, respectively.Mancel's paternal grandparents were Orlando and Mary A. (Newton) Talcott. His maternal grandparents were Emanuel and Hannah Eastwood.After graduating from Technical High School, Mancel attended Philadelphia Dental College, from which he graduated in 1908. He then set up a dental practice at Providence, Rhode Island. Eventually, however, he gave up his practice to join the business his father started as W. O. Talcott Belt HooksOn 30 March 1909 at Providence, Rhode Island, Mancel married Viola Mabel James, daughter of Edwin C. James and Sarah E. (James) James.The couple had at least two children, both daughters. Mancel Walter Talcott and wife Viola Mabel (James) Talcott both died in 1956. A listing on Find-a-Grave has an extensive biography of Mancel Walter Talcott.If you have corrections to the information above or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Other photographs found with this one:Ethel B. Arnold, June 1905Rachel C. Arnold. T.H.S. 1905Ernest Spencer Calder, Tech 05, "Giles Corey"Mary Alice Carpenter, June 1905Jessie J. Colvin, T.H.S. '05Florence Dombey Colwell, Class of 1905, T.H.S.Edith M. Fairbrother, T.H.S. 1905Joseph Alfred Fallows, Tech. '05Farah C. Glynne, [not sure of this name], T.H.S. 1905Annie F. Goff, Class of 1905 [died 22 March 1909]Marjorie Goff, Christmas 1904George Gould, T.H.S. '05E. Grace Hartman, April 26, 1905Charles J. Martin, T.H.S. '05 [became noted artist Charles James Martin]Frank Bartlett McSoley, T.H.S. 1905Mancel Talcott, T.H.S. '05; Mancel Walter TalcottCranston, Rhode Island, just south of ProvidenceView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

1905 Graduation Photograph of Ernest Spencer Calder from Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.The photograph itself is 3" x 4"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7". It was found with 15 similar photographs of 6 young men and 9 young women. Most, if not all, were taken by the studio of Edgar K. Horton of Providence. A list of the people in the photographs appears at the end of this post.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Ernest Spencer Calder was born at Providence, Rhode Island, on 12 June 1886, the son of Charles Granville Calder and Florence Nightingale Bangs (Williams) Calder, Providence, Rhode Island natives.Ernest's paternal grandparents were John Lewis Calder and Julia Frances (Eddy) Calder. His maternal grandparents were Nathan Bangs Williams and Abby Ann (Jillson) Williams.Ernest received a degree in dentistry from Harvard College and taught dentistry there on occasion. He established a dental practice at Providence, Rhode Island.On 6 July 1910, Ernest married Alice G. Giles, daughter of Hollis L. and Flora E. (Holbrook) Giles of Fall River, Massachusetts. Alice was born at Fall River on 25 July 1884.Dr. and Mrs. Calder had at least two children, both daughters. Dr. Calder died on 25 November 1947, as the result of a heart attack. I found a newspaper article about his death that mentioned that he was the victim of a swindle; perhaps the stress contributed to his ill health.The January 1922 edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association contains a submission from Dr. Calder, shown below.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Other photographs found with this one:

1905 graduation photograph of Charles James Martin of Technical High School at Providence, Rhode Island.

The photograph itself is approximately 4" x 3"; the piece mounted is 10" x 7".It was found with 15 similar photographs which appear to be of other graduates of Technical High School, 6 male and 9 female. Most, if not all, were taken by the Edgar K. Horton studio of Providence.

A list of the people in the photographs appears at the end of this post.

Charles James Martin would become a noted artist and teacher of art. Among many others, Georgia O'Keefe and Winston Churchill were admirers of his work. See an account of his life, photographs of him and his family and examples of his work here.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Charles James Martin was born 4 July 1886 at Mansfield, England, the son of James and Jane Martin. The family emigrated to the United States about 1887.After Technical High School, Charles studied art at Columbia University Teachers College, where he started teaching in 1914. He was still teaching there when he completed his World War I draft registration card. He also studied art with Arthur Wesley Dow.Charles married fellow art student Esther L. Upton, daughter of Albert and Esther Upton of Michigan. The couple had a son James Upton Martin in 1918. From the 1920s on, the couple spent much of their lives apart, with their son dividing his time between the two.Charles died in 1955 at Hyannis, Massachusetts, and is buried at Providence, Rhode Island.If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!People in the 16 photographs:

Monday, January 28, 2013

Cabinet photograph, taken by the Holloway studio of Newport, Rhode Island, at the corner of Malboro and Thames Streets, of a couple identified on the reverse as the parents of Anna Tefft.

I found a few possibilities for an Anna Tefft, with Tefft as a maiden name and married name, and don't want to take a chance, so I'm hoping a reader who recognizes this couple from family albums and/or research will come forward with a comment to identify them.Newport, Rhode IslandView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the bottom front as R. N. Lewis of Edgecombe Co. The photograph was taken by the W. P. Egbert studio of 312 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa.

I'm not positive of his middle initial and would appreciate hearing from a reader who has a different take on it. Also, is it Edgecombe County or Edgecombe, Colorado? And if Edgecombe County, what state?I tried a few searches, such as a fellow living at Edgecombe, Colorado, or born at Edgecombe County, North Carolina and living in the Davenport, Iowa area, or nearly Illinois, and found a few possibilities but nothing definitive. I so wish his first name had been spelled out!If you recognize this fellow from your family albums or from research, using the few clues, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Davenport, IowaView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Photograph of a man identified on the reverse as Clint Rice. The photograph was taken by a Bentonville, Arkansas studio.

I'm guessing that this is a photograph of Clinton Augustus Rice, perhaps before he acquired his medical degree at St. Louis Medical College. If you feel he is a different person, please leave a comment or contact me directly.From online research, hopefully correct:Clinton Augustus Rice was born 5 May 1865 at Fayetteville, Arkansas, the son of Charles W. and Juliet Caroline (Cobb) Rice.On 15 April 1897 near Bentonville, Arkansas, Clint married Dora Burks, daughter of Samuel B. and Louisa K. (Blackburn) Burks. Dora was born about October 1876 at War Eagle, Arkansas.Dr. Clint and Dora (Burks) Rice raised two daughters, Dora Pauline Rice, who married Edward Breedlove, and Mary Louise Rice.For more information, including two obituaries, see the Find-a-Grave listing for Dr. Clinton Augustus Rice.If you have corrections to the information above, or if you feel the man in the photograph is another Clint Rice, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Bentonville, Arkansas [See Rogers, Arkansas to the southeast.]View Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Cabinet photograph of two sisters named Effie and, I think, Ellen.Please leave a comment or contact me directly if you recognize these women from your family albums or research, and/or if you have a different name for "Ellen". Thanks!

Cabinet Photograph of a married couple identified on the reverse as F. M. and Ann Bishop Thomas. The photograph was taken by the McGregor studio of Malvern, Iowa.For a clue as to the date the photograph was taken, Ann (Bishop) Thomas died on 26 June 1888, so I'm dating it to the 1880s.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Francis Marion Thomas was born 24 May 1831 in Rush County, Indiana, the son of James and Elizabeth (Thornberry) Thomas, who were born in Kentucky and Tennessee respectively.

F. M.'s paternal grandparents were Ephraim and Elizabeth Thomas. His maternal grandparents were Richard and Agnes (Asher) Thornberry.On 16 November 1854 at Albia, Iowa, F. M. married Ann Bishop, daughter of Samuel Dennis Bishop and Huldah (Daniels) Bishop, who were born in Connecticut and New York respectively. Ann was born 25 October 1834 at Bedford, Indiana.Ann's paternal grandparents were Nathaniel and Mary (Covert) Bishop. As for her maternal grandparents, I found conflicting sets online, so I will leave that to a knowledgeable reader who will hopefully leave a comment.F. M. and Ann farmed at Malvern, Iowa. Several of their children died young, but at least three lived to adulthood.As mentioned above, Ann (Bishop) Thomas died on 26 June 1888 at Malvern, Iowa. Francis Marion Thomas died 3 May 1917 at Trenton, Nebraska, where he had moved to live with his son.If you have corrections to the information above, or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Malvern, IowaView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Cabinet photograph of a middle aged man identified on the front as George Colton. The photograph was taken by the Richardson studio of Easthampton, Massachusetts.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]George Colton was likely George Simond Colton, born 10 December 1843 at Sherburne, Vermont, son of Elisha and Martha (Hastings) Colton, who were born at Rowe, Massachusetts, and in Vermont, respectively.George's paternal grandparents were Silas and Mary (Hines) Colton. I found conflicting facts on George's maternal grandparents. They may have been Nathaniel and Zipha (Hodgman) Hastings. Perhaps a reader has the definitive answer.According to A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Quartermaster George Colton, published by George Woolworth Colton in 1912, George Simond Colton was a manufacturer of garter, loom, suspender, frill and truss webs.George married at least twice:

Susan H. Calef, daughter of Nehemiah and Lucy (Nutting) Calef, whom George married on 9 September 1869. Susan was born 24 January 1844 at Washington, Vermont, and died 31 January 1900 at Holyoke, Massachusetts. No children.

Clara Louise Sutherland, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Osborne (Doane) Sutherland, Massachusetts natives. Clara was born 1 June 1868 at Gibsonville, California. I'd like to know how Clara's parents happened to be in California when she was born. No children.

If you have corrections to the information above, or additional information to share, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!

Cabinet photograph taken of a man identified on the reverse as "Wallace Clifford, Mother's Brother". The photograph was taken by the Harry S. Heath studio of Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Note of 27 January 2013: Please scroll down to the comments for information from the organization Vermont in the Civil War (http://vermontcivilwar.org) on Commodore Wallace Clifford's Civil War service, including twice being a prisoner of war, in the First Vermont Cavalry.From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]I believe this man to be Commodore Wallace Clifford, who was born at Cabot, Vermont, about 1845, the son of Absalom and Susan P. (Boynton) Clifford, who were born at Warren, New Hampshire, and Orford, New Hampshire, respectively.Wallace's paternal grandparents were Timothy and Ruth (Smith) Clifford. His maternal grandparents were Stephen and Betsey (Palmer) Boynton.In 1863, according to Civil War draft registration records, Wallace was living at West Fairlee, Vermont, and was farming.Wallace's first wife was Angeline L. Barry, born in Massachusetts, the daughter of William and Caroline (Slade) Barry. Wallace and Angeline had, I believe, three daughters.Angeline died 16 November 1894 at Plymouth, New Hampshire. Wallace subsequently married Alice A. Derby on 15 December 1898. Wallace described himself as widowed on the 1910 Census.According to census records, Wallace worked in a mill and as a day laborer. He died 27 June 1926, at Plymouth, New Hampshire. If you have corrections to the information above or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. I'd especially like to have more information on Angeline L. Barry and Alice A. Derby.Plymouth, New HampshireView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Friday, January 25, 2013

This appears to be a graduation photograph of a young man identified by his inscription as J. Alfred Bicknell, 1928.The photograph was taken by the Adams studio of Portland, Maine, which is interesting considering that John Alfred Bicknell's father and brother each owned a photography studio. Perhaps the Adams studio was the lowest bidder on a package offered by the school.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]John Alfred Bicknell was born 1 July 1910 at Portland, Maine, the son of John Carlton Bicknell and Alice Hope (Coffin) Bicknell, who were born at Skowhegan, Maine, and South Beddington, Maine, respectively. Skowhegan is in Somerset County; Beddington is in Washington County.You have to wonder what the circumstances were that brought people together.John Alfred Bicknell's paternal grandparents were John Randall Bicknell and Mary Laura (Moulton) Bicknell. His maternal grandparents were William Augustus Coffin and Ruth Emerson (Schoppee) Coffin.J. Alfred married a Madeline, possibly Madeline Foster, in the 1930s. She was born in Massachusetts.For an interesting commentary on the Bicknells and their photography businesses, see this web page which describes a treasure trove of Bicknell memorabilia being prepared for auction about 2005. It was especially interesting to learn that John Alfred Bicknell's father John Carlton Bicknell managed to become a traveling photographer in the days of heavy equipment and non-power-steering vehicles despite having lost his leg at the age of seven.If you have corrections to the information above, or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Portland, MaineView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Photograph of a young man identified on the reverse as Charlie Thompson. The photograph was taken by the Ramsdell studio of Bangor, Maine.

About a year ago I featured another photograph taken by a Bangor, Maine, studio of a man identified as Charles Thompson. I feel there's a good chance they're the same person, but I'd like readers' opinions on that.If you recognize this young man from your family albums or research, or if you have an opinion on whether the two young men named Charles/Charlie Thompson are one and the same, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Bangor, MaineView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the reverse in a childlike hand as Ferd Nelley, who I assume is Ferdinand Cortez Nealey. Interestingly, the photograph was taken by the Nealey studio of Brooks and Winterport, Maine. This may have been the studio of Ferdinand himself; perhaps he set up the camera for his self portrait.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]Ferdinand Cortez Nealey was born 15 March 1863 at Monroe, Maine, the son of Joseph T. and Lucy (Couillard) Nealey, who were born at Kennebunk, Maine, and Monroe, Maine, respectively.At the time of the 1900 Census, Ferdinand was rooming at Belfast, Maine, and working as a photographer. He traveled throughout the state photographing civil officials, buildings and vistas.Perhaps it was on such a trip to Aroostook County, Maine, that he met his future wife, Eva Germaine Nickerson, whom married on 18 November 1902 at Caribou, Maine.Eva Germaine (Nickerson) Nealey was born 25 May 1878 at West Houlton, Maine, the daughter of Civil War veteran Henry Oscar Nickerson and Alice Julia (Estabrooks) Nickerson. Ferdinand and Eva made their home at Houlton, Maine, where they raised at least three children, a daughter and two sons, and Fred operated a photography studio. Ferdinand died at Houlton in 1951; Eva died in 1968.If you have corrections to the information above or more information on the Nealey and Nickerson families, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Monroe, MaineView Larger MapHoulton, MaineView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Cabinet photograph of a distinguished appearing man identified on the reverse in rather childlike handwriting as Harry Chapman.The photograph was taken by the Weston studio of Bangor, Maine.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]I found a Harry J. Chapman living at Bangor, Maine, and a Harry W. Chapman living at Old Town, Maine, not far from Bangor, both of them of plausible age for the man in the photograph.Only for the weak reasoning that there were studios at Old Town or Orono that Harry W. Chapman could have patronized, I'm leaning toward the man in the photograph as Harry J. Chapman, who became a lawyer and judge at Bangor.If you recognize this man from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Harry J. Chapman was born 12 April 1856 at Passadumkeag, Maine, the son of Charles Davis Chapman and Hannah L. (Haynes) Chapman, who were born at Orrington, Maine, and Passadumkeag, Maine, respectively. Maine Births and Christenings show him born at Orrington, Maine, but perhaps that was actually a christening record.Harry grew up at Orrington, Maine, attended the nearby East Maine Conference Seminary at Bucksport, Maine, and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1882. After a short period practicing law in Wisconsin, he opened his practice at Bangor, Maine and made his career there, as an attorney, a judge and a civic official. He also taught at the University of Maine Law School from 1903 on and became an associate professor there in 1912.He was an inventor and was interested in history, as evidenced by a lecture he gave on the history of the first Bangor City Hall to the Bangor Historical Society on 4 January 1916 and by his 1925 book Lords of Acadia, about the colonial period in Maine.He wrote an article about the Battle of Hampden, which occurred late in the War of 1812, on 3 September 1814, as the British sailed up the Penobscot River, ultimately to Bangor.On 27 May 1891, Harry J. Chapman married Clara Louise Clark of Winterport, Maine. She was born about August 1866, the daughter of Albert B. and Elizabeth [possibly Curtis] Clark.Harry and Clara had at least one child, a daughter Elizabeth, born 13 September 1894, at Bangor, Maine.If you have corrections to the information above, or if you feel that the man pictured is another Harry Chapman, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!Bangor, Maine [See Orrington and Winterport downstream on the Penobscot River. Passadumkeag is upstream of Bangor, beyond Old Town.] View Larger MapThanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the reverse as J. Henry Bliss. The photograph was taken by the A. J. Davison studio of 258 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut.

I'm wondering if he was Rev. Jason Henry Bliss, born in Colchester, Vermont, on 6 September 1844, son of Zenas and Eliza (Chamberlain) Bliss, both Vermont natives.Jason Henry Bliss attended Amherst College and Hartford Theological Institute, the latter from 1866 to 1869. He was ordained at Center Harbor, New Hampshire, on 25 November 1869, then spent some time as pastor at a church at South Hadley, Massachusetts, and then moved to Clinton, Connecticut.Just before his ordination, Rev. Bliss married Florence Amelia Russell on 4 November 1869, at Amherst, Massachusetts. She was born 8 September 1849 at Manchester, Connecticut, daughter of Mervin Tory Russell and Esther (Buckland) Russell. According to one record I saw, Florence was living at Hartford, Connecticut, at the time of her marriage.Rev. and Mrs. Bliss had seven children.If you have corrections to the information above or if you feel that the man in the photograph is a different J. Henry Bliss, please leave a comment or contact me directly.Hartford, ConnecticutView Larger MapThanks for stopping by!